Text Size

PI EXCLUSIVE … FORMER FEC, HILL STAFFERS JOINING CLARK HILL: Law and lobbying firm Clark Hill PLC is hiring a pair of veteran public sector pros to further populate its D.C. office. Beth Beacham, who served as counsel and executive assistant to Federal Election Commission Commissioner Don McGahn, will join the firm’s political law practice. She’s also a former chief counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Meanwhile, Carlos Gutierrez Jr., a former legislative assistant to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), will join the firm’s government and public affairs practice. He also has worked as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank.

PI EXCLUSIVE … FORMER NRCC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOINS MANATT: Scott Hatch, a former National Republican Congressional Committee executive director and managing partner of consulting firm Capitol Management Initiatives, is joining Manatt, Phelps & Phillips’ federal government affairs and public policy practice as a managing director. In his new position at Manatt, Hatch will “counsel clients on business strategy and brand management, legislative and political advocacy and organizational development,” the firm tells PI. Upon founding Capitol Management Initiatives in 2001, Hatch landed what’s now known as the ONE Campaign — the anti-poverty foundation run by U2 front man Bono — as a client. During the past several years, Hatch has personally lobbied on behalf of various clients including Aegis LLC, Catholic Charities, Finmeccanica and Bread for the World, federal disclosure records show.

i2COALITION LAUNCHES: The Internet Infrastructure Coalition — i2Coalition — is officially launching Monday. The group, which grew out of the SOPA/PIPA debate and has 42 current member companies, represents global and U.S. Internet infrastructure providers and related tech firms. Its goal: serve as the public policy voice of the Internet's infrastructure. Charter members include cPanel, Rackspace, Softlayer and Endurance International Group.

KLOBUCHAR TO GET BOOST FROM NOTABLE LOBBYIST:Dennis McGrann, Lockridge Grindal Nauen’s federal relations policy group director, is, with his wife, Elena McGrann, hosting a fundraiser Wednesday evening at their D.C. home for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). The minimum contribution is $500 for an individual, $1,000 for guests representing political action committees. See the invitation: http://bit.ly/NxDcDK

McGrann’s lobbying clients include numerous entities based in Minnesota or tied to the state, federal records show. Among them: the Association of Minnesota Counties, Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the Twin City Pipe Trades Service Association, the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and the city governments of St. Paul and International Falls.

NEW SENIOR VP FOR INSURANCE LOBBY: The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America has tapped Nathaniel F. Wienecke as its senior vice president, federal government relations, the association announced today. He comes from JPMorgan Chase, where he worked as vice president for global government relations. Wienecke is also a former assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

A celestial Monday to you, PI Nation, as 36 years ago today, the United States unveiled Enterprise — no, no, not one of the warp drive-powered starships captained by James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard, but the space shuttle prototype NASA used for testing purposes en route to the first space shuttle launch in 1981. (The final shuttle mission took place last year.)

Although NASA doesn’t attract the same level of lobbying interest as it once did, 89 different entities have nonetheless lobbied the agency so far this year, federal disclosure records indicate. They range from the obvious — United Launch Alliance, Boeing, Lockheed Martin — to the less expected, such as Ithaca College, LightSquared, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and Salesforce.com.

We always want to hear from you, so rocket over a tip, hint, suggestion or recommendation to dlevinthal@politico.com or apalmer@politico.com. Please follow us on Twitter, too, where we’re at @apalmerdc and @davelevinthal.

Thanks very much for reading, and now, back to the day’s top influence industry news …

THE YEAR’S FISHIEST LOBBYING BLITZ? Catfish farmers from Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama — members of Catfish Farmers of America — are swimming their way to Capitol Hill to lobby their state’s congressional delegation Tuesday on behalf of their industry. And the effort won’t be without food: They’re toting about 200 pounds of catfish for an event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at 11 D. St. SE. One catfish vendor — King Kat from Hazen, Ark. — is planning to bring its mobile frying trailer for the event.

THE HARTFORD ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES: Matthew Kirk will serve as senior vice president of sales and distribution for TheHartford’s commercial markets division, the company announced, and Jay Rosenblum will succeed Kirk as senior vice president of government affairs. Kirk joined The Hartford in 2006, leading all government affairs work during the financial crisis. He previously served as deputy assistant for legislative affairs to President George W. Bush. Rosenblum previously worked for Ernst & Young and Grant Thornton’s government affairs office and held several roles in the Clinton administration.

CRITZ FORMS LEADERSHIP PAC: Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.) has formed a new leadership political action committee he’s calling the PA Jobs PAC, a federal filing indicates. Members of congress may use leadership PACs separate and apart from their campaign committees to raise and spend money for purposes such as traveling, touting political ideologies and making campaign donations to political brethren. Lindsay Angerholzer will serve as treasurer.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE, ROBOCALLERS: Political campaigns that robocall iPhones and Androids may be in for a shock: They could be fined $16,000 per call, our Michelle Quinn reports: http://politi.co/OTik7d

CONSERVATIVE OUTSIDE GROUPS GO BIG IN HOUSE RACES: With 50 days and counting until Election Day, a pair of outside political groups supporting House Republicans is unleashing $7 million of TV ads in contested congressional districts, our Jake Sherman writes: http://politi.co/OAcFqW

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORLD:

Democrats are expected to introduce two bills to encourage small donors to contribute to campaigns, reports T.W. Farnam of The Washington Post. http://wapo.st/RRDqli

Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said in a speech Friday that campaign finance is complicated, citing the Citizens United decision as one that has been portrayed inaccurately by the media, reports Michelle R. Smith of The Associated Press. http://bo.st/SLVvIF

A lesser known Koch brother, William Koch, is the largest individual political donor in Florida, reports Anthony Cormier of The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. http://bit.ly/OQZi1j

Silicon Valley figures have given at least $27 million to President Barack Obama’s campaign, report Buzzfeed’s Reyhan Harmanci and Allison McCann. http://bit.ly/U3fBMi

** WANT MORE NEWS? For breaking news and customized alerts on defense, energy, financial services, health care, tax, technology and transportation throughout the day, you should GO PRO. With sector-specific coverage, early-bird editions of POLITICO's must-read morning newsletters, customized instant alerts sent to your mobile device and special subscriber-only events, you won’t miss a beat. See what you've been missing: www.politicopro.com **